Saturday, January 09, 2010

Charles Shaughnessy (photo credit Suzanne Allison) charmed Days of Our Lives fans during his eight-year tenure as Shane Donovan, and he also co-starred with Fran Drescher as Maxwell Sheffield on The Nanny. Lately, Charles has been popping up everywhere — from a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical to Mad Men to voicing Dennis the Goldfish on the Disney Channel’s cartoon series Stanley, for which he won an Emmy.

This time around, he plays Mr. Bosley, the owner of a magazine company who sends one of his journalists, Cynthia Tamerline (who is played by Jordan Ladd), on a mundane small-town assignment where she discovers her true passion in life. Wishing Well also co-stars Ernest Borgnine, Jason London and Sally Kellerman, and airs on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT and 8 p.m. Central. (Check your local listings for encore presentations.)

So, what was the experience of filming Wishing Well like for the ever-busy Charles Shaughnessy? Charles explains: “These kinds of movies are always very fun things to do, playing different kinds of roles. I came in for a couple of days in the office set with Jordan Ladd. There’s sort of a mentor relationship between Mr. Bosley and Cynthia that is slightly antagonistic, but in a paternal way. He sends her to a small, Midwest town to kind of shake her up a bit.”

Charles had fun playing the head honcho and enjoyed finding different facets of his character. “If there is a chance to paint a character into someone who goes just beyond the lines, it’s always fun to do. It’s having that extra dimension that gives you a sense of who this guy is when the cameras stop rolling. Mr. Bosley has a few more dimensions than just a boss: He has a sense of humor, he knows the business, and he has a certain charm and flair.”

Working with Jordan — daughter of actress Cheryl Ladd and a dead ringer for her gorgeous mom — was also a wonderful experience. Charles raves: “Jordan is a delight. We had a lot of fun. She is just fantastic — I have nothing but good things to say about her.”

A main message of the movie is that sometimes you just have to follow your heart, which is something Charles understands, but doesn’t completely subscribe to. “My philosophy in life is to keep tap dancing, keep surfing. You can try to follow your heart, but sometimes it is not always the right thing to do. You’ve got to balance it with your head.

“I think that one of the great dangers is investing too much in plans. I’ve set so many goals that have disappeared during the journey and have been replaced by much more interesting goals that suddenly popped up and put me in a new direction. I’m a believer in being as smart as you can in the moment.”

With Charles’ varied career, would he ever consider coming back to daytime? As he tells me, he wouldn’t rule anything out. “I loved doing Days of Our Lives. I thought that format was a fantastic way to work. You use all the muscles you have; it was exhausting at times and it never got boring. I made some really good friends, and we absolutely had a blast. I wouldn’t say no (if the chance presented itself again).”

Fans of Charles should not say no to catching his co-starring role this weekend and next on the Hallmark Channel’s original movie Wishing Well.